Water Change Method

[andywg]

this will cause some controversy but here goes.

I add the water conditioner to the tank and then re-fill with water as cold as possible via a hose pipe.
the fish seem to like swimming in and out of the cold stream as it enters the tank.
I have not had a problem doing water changes this way and the overall temp of the tank(s)
has only dropped by 2 degrees C, even on large (30-40%) changes.

This method is done by many people, especially those with the larger tanks, with similar results regarding water temp changes. The thought of the time it would take to individually de-chlor buckets doing a 40% water change on a 150 imp gallon tank doesn't bear thinking about...

Quick water changes the Andy way:

1) Connect a small pond pump to some hose and run the hose to a sink and put the pump in the tank;

2) Turn on the pump and then turn off once the required amount of water has been removed;

3) Connect drain end of hose to a mains cold tap;

4) Proceed to fill the tank until full again.

There we go, nice and simple. No waiting for 5 minutes, or 24 hours with buckets, or carrying huge amounts of water around.

 

[highfire]

What an excellent idea, Andy. With my 260 litre, I have to syphon into a bucket which only holds 10 litres, meaning stopping the syphon, struggling through the house to the utility room to empty the bucket, and then starting the syphon again. I have to do this many times, depending on the size of water change. Then of course I do it in reverse to re-fill the tank.
However, your idea sounds as if it could work for me.
Thanks for the tip!

 

[mlawson]

I've always done it that way except when starting a new tank.

 

[keith00]

I understood that if you leave the make up water in a bucket and aerate it with a powerhead this will drive off the chlorine so you don't have to use conditioner.

Is this right?

 

[andywg]

That is the case for chlorine, however chloramine (formed by bonding chlorine to ammonia) is less likely to gas off.

Also one must consider the effects of a gradual build up of heavy metals in the tank (which many de-chlors deal with).

As a third point, some people do not dechlor at all and pump straight into their tanks with no ill effects, so there is no general consensus on this issue I'm afraid

 

[vinylman]

I always prepare my buckets of dechlorinated water the night before, then just bring the temperature up with boiled kettle water. Never use hot water from the tap.